Fluid Review – Create Desktop Apps for Your Favorite Websites

very good
key review info
  • Application: Fluid 1.8.3
  • Reviewed on:
application features
  • Create a Site Specific Browser for any website and run it as a standalone desktop app
  • (2 more, see all...)

Fluid is a user friendly and very powerful software solution that enables you to create apps for the websites that don’t have their own desktop client, or that incorporate very few customization options.

Most popular online services also develop clients that can be deployed on your computer as standalone apps: even though you can access the respective websites via your web browser, a heavy usage and multiple accounts are handled much better via a separate app.

At the core, Fluid is actually a simplified web browser that targets a user specified website: as a result, the utility should be able to handle any web application, just like any other browser. Moreover, Fluid includes support for integrating scripts, which means that you get to effortlessly personalize your experience.

Build desktop applications without having to write a line of code

Fluid is sporting an extremely intuitive workflow that should not raise any issues even to the most inexperienced users: launch the app, insert the URL for which you want to create the app, provide a name, an icon, and an output location for the new app, and then simply press the “Create” button.

Once the process is over, you do not have to further interact with the Fluid app: all the features you need will be included in the new desktop app, and the client runs on its own, without needing the main Fluid utility to be launched.

Access your favorite web services via a standalone desktop app

By default, within a Fluid application, you can navigate only to the website address provided initially: if you try to launch any other URL, the app will send them to your default web browser. This way you can make sure the Fluid app will remain focused only on a specific service, and you will not be tempted to clutter its window.

Nonetheless, you can decide to allow browsing to any URL, or to create your own Whitelist. Note that the Fluid apps also retain a couple of functions specific to a web browser: you can enable the address bar, you can open multiple tabs, and you get to create a bookmarks list (the bar also provides support for adding bookmarklets).

As a result, you have the option to use two websites in tandem, without building separate Fluid apps, for example. Every Fluid app also includes two different Browsa Panels that can be opened on the right side, or on the left side of the main window: both the window and the panels can be resized, so you get to keep up to 3 websites opened side by side.

Another positive aspect is the fact that you can navigate to user scripts repositories and install them within your app with minimal effort. The newly installed scripts will be added to the Scripts menu, which allows you to manually toggle on and off or to reload them with a click of a button to quickly view their effects.

Personalize the way in which you browse or interact with the targeted websites

The scripts that can be added to your Fluid-based apps usually deal with the home page’s appearance: for example, you might want to hide certain menus, or an area that displays advertisements.

On the other hand, the app’s behavior can also be adjusted through its Preferences window by changing your app’s homepage, the app icon, the global summoning hotkey for its menu-bar entry, the default window level (normal, floating, or desktop) or opacity, how links or tabs are handled, and so on. Notable is that plug-ins, JavaScript, and pop-up windows are blocked by default.

Moreover, the Fluid apps offer you the possibility to store cookies separately, which means that you have the option to keep open different accounts for the same service, by using two separate Fluid apps. If your Dock is cluttered by too many Fluid apps, you can choose to pin any of them to your status bar.

In terms of performance, the resources usage of a Fluid app is determined by the source homepage, by the number of opened tabs, by their content, and so on. However, the consumption level is lower in the case of a standalone Fluid app, when compared to running the same website in a web browser, especially for webpages that use Adobe Flash.


The Good

Fluid offers you the possibility to build a standalone application for any website in less than a minute, and then helps you personalize your experience by either modifying the default app behavior, or by integrating bookmarklets, user scripts, or user styles.

In addition, you have the option to pin the app to the status bar, to setup the default window level, to customize the way in which tabs and links are handled, to store the website’s cookies separately, to create your own whitelist, and much more.

The Bad

Some of the capabilities included in the Fluid applications are not very obvious, and the developer does not highlight their presence in any way. Besides a short presentation video published on the Fluid website, there are no other resources documenting what you can do with the app.

In the worst case scenario, if you do not take the time to explore the preferences and the menus of the newly created apps, you will miss out on a couple of both interesting and very useful features.

The Truth

Fluid makes itself noticed by featuring an intuitive workflow, while the scripting functionality provides a playground for more experienced users. If you are not familiar with building apps or user scripting, Fluid has all it takes to help you create a standalone app for any website, without making you deal with coding.

Alternatively, you can also integrate scripts developed by other users for specific websites, or even create your own. All in all, Fluid provides a realistic solution for creating a standalone utility for any website that does not have its own desktop app.

user interface 5
features 5
ease of use 4
pricing / value 4


final rating 4
Editor's review
very good
 
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Fluid (18 Images)

In the Fluid main window, you must input the URL for which you want to create a standalone app
Via the Fluid File menu, you get to easily change the default output location for the desktop clientsWithin the Fluid notification panel, you can choose to launch the new app or reveal it in the FinderIn the new Fluid standalone app, you can easily navigate your favorite websitesFrom the app's View menu, you can easily decide which toolbars you want visible, and the ones that should be hidden
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